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Course: The J. Paul Getty Museum > Unit 1
Lesson 2: An ancient portrait bust and propagandaVideo
The Bust of Commodus, made around CE 180, tells us a lot about this ancient Roman emperor’s ego. An example of art as propaganda, it was designed to make him look heroic.
Created by Getty Museum.
Video transcript
Many kids in the U.S. turn 16 eager to get
their driver's license. But about the time Commodus turned 16, he became co-ruler of the Roman Empire
with his father Marcus Aurelius. Still couldn't drive though. When his dad died, the stretch of Roman rulers,
known as the Five Good Emperors, ended. And there's a reason why they don't
call it the six good emperors. Frankly, Commodus
was pretty bad at his job. Things started out okay. Commodus made peace
with the Germanic tribes Rome had been warring with
since his father's reign. But then the young emperor
became a little irrational. You know, fighting lions
in the arena, renaming Rome after himself,
believing he was a god. So, when he started to tax
the rich in order to lavish the people with expensive gifts, well,
no wonder his advisers employed a champion wrestler
to strangle him at age 31. But at least Commodus had a cool bust. This lifesize marble
sculpture in the round weighs 205 pounds. Look at those curls. They're so intricate. Some marble due to its moisture
content is softer and easier to chisel than others. Who knows? Maybe that helped
the sculptor style that curly hair. Many marble busts were made of Commodus and distributed around the Empire
during his reign. They were a form of propaganda
designed to make Commodus look good and look good he does. But he was so disliked
that many busts were destroyed. Maybe the marketing message fell flat. Why is art sometimes used as propaganda?